Founded in 2011 by beer evangelists and social media personalities Ashley Routson and Ryan Ross, IPA Day is a universal movement created to unite the voices of craft beer enthusiasts, bloggers, and brewers worldwide, using social media as the common arena for connecting the conversation together.

IPA Day is not the brainchild of a corporate marketing machine, nor is it meant to serve any particular beer brand. IPA Day is opportunity for all breweries, bloggers, businesses and consumers to connect and share their love of craft beer. It is an opportunity for the entire craft beer culture to combine forces and advocate craft beer through increased education and global awareness.

So what did I do for IPA day? I went to the homeland. I bellied up to the bar at Dogfish Head in Rehoboth Beach, DE (ground zero for the IPA movement) and ordered a Randalled 120 Minute IPA. What is a Randalled IPA? At the time of the pour the 120 is pushed through hops. In this case it was pushed through cascade hops and grapefruit zest (to bring out the citrus in the beer). Wow was it good.

The bar was pretty well packed for a Thursday night, and it didn’t seem like too many people were aware of the significance of the day. That, of course, didn’t keep me from enjoying it. The Randall on the bar was also a great conversation starter among bar patrons. I’m not sure how often Dogfish Head will be pulling out the Randall, but if you get a chance to try it, you should, it’s worth the effort.

Kelli and I recently went out for food and drinks at a new bar in the Baltimore area called Hop Heads Alehouse. We had a great time as the bar is quintessential Baltimore at its roots. There was very much a home town feel and a general comradery among patrons. There are nightly specials listed on their website, so check it out before you go and see which night is the night for you.

Kelli had a Bear Republic Racer 5, I had a Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale.

The menu was mainly comprised of your standard bar items of easy to make and easy to consume food. Nothing really stood out to me on the menu, but keep in mind I don’t eat meat.

For food I ordered the blackened tuna bites.

Good, but highly seasoned.

Their beer selection was really good if you are into craft beers. I was blown away by the amount of beers they have available, over 200!! While they are a lot of the standard craft beers you will find in the craft beer scene, that fact that the vast majority of the beers are from independent breweries is a welcome change in any bar.

Plenty of great craft beers from which to choose.

Craft beers were on tap, too.

Make no mistake, this is not some stuck up, hoity-toity bar full of beer snobs. This is a place where people come to have fun, meet new friends, and drink!!!

Being a bar, and energy drinks on special at $4 each, we did a round of shots with the bartender.

Not being full yet I went for a pizza.

My pizza with half olives.

There was a lot of room in the bar, and I could see the empty floor quickly becoming a dance floor when the music and crowd were just right. Our early arrival found us in a mostly empty bar, but in the hour or two we were there the bar quickly began to fill. I could easily see this bar being shoulder to shoulder by the end of the night.

It was early on Friday, but you can see the potential.

The event calendar on the website always lists any entertainment, and the DJ’s that were there the night we went were fantastic. These guys had a nice grove going that made me want to stay longer.

DJ’s Tony Stylez and Supreme were setting the mood.

Some old school Baltimore action.

The owner Mike Roser was a really down to earth guy that was enjoyable to talk with during my time in the bar. He had some big ideas on what he wanted to do in the future, and I’m glad to see that his vision is off to a great start. More bars like his would be a welcome addition to any city.

During Easter I was in Ocean City, MD and made a Saturday day trip over to Berlin, MD to see Burley Oak Brewery. I hadn’t been there since the Oktoberfest the previous year, and I was excited to see how they had grown. Brewmaster Brian Carl was there to give a tour of the brewery. Overall, it was a great day with lots of good beer.

We arrived at Burley Oak just after 2pm.

There were plenty of great beers on tap.

We grabbed a corner table and had a round of beer.

Brewmaster Brian Carl was on hand to give a tour of the brewery.

It was fun enjoying the beer while getting the tour.

Inside the refirdgeration unit.

Brian was very informative and was a lot of fun to talk to.

Notice the surfboards on top?

My guess is they have a lot of fun making the beer.

It was good to see him again and I'm glad he remembered me.

After the tour it was time to try all the beers.

Brian was happy to explain the all the styles of beer we were drinking.

If you're in Ocean City, I strongly suggest making the trip over to Berlin, MD to see the brewery and taste the beers!!!

Kelli and I recently went to the Heavy Seas Beer and Oyster Fest. It was a lot of fun hanging out at the Heavy Seas Brewery and getting to meet Hugh Sissons again. Below are the pictures from the event. I refrained from doing beer reviews, as there were too many beers to drink, and I really just wanted to relax and have a good time. After clicking on a picture below to enlarge it you can use the arrow keys or your mouse wheel to go to the next picture.

We arrived at the Heavy Seas Beer and Oyster Fest about 45 minutes after it started.

There was plenty of action, but I headed straight for the closest taps for a Märzen.

Right after that beer I ran into owner, Hugh Sissons.

He recommend I try the Black Cannon Black IPA before it ran out, so I did.

There was a good crowd on hand for the fest.

And it was really cool to see where they brew the beer.

Food was included, and the shrimp sandwiches were perfect!!

1:07 p.m., and just in time.

Fried Oyster sliders. I had to take this picture quickly because they were going fast.

In the back of the brewery there was a two tap setup, so I grabbed another Märzen.

Jonathan (a serious oyster expert) was on his 3-4 plate.

He and Kelli love going to oyster fests together.

There also was live music playing all day.

Huge was signing his new book Brewing in Baltimore, with Author Maureen O'Prey. He wrote the forward.